Movement As Dialogue

As promised, we’re looking at methods and exercises for rehearsing a fight scene! Today, we begin with a foundation concept when approaching your fight choreography which lays the groundwork for the upcoming series.

In many cases, actors remember the sequence of the choreography and think that they’ve finished with rehearsing their scene. However, think of the moves like your dialogue in the rest of the play: now that you’ve learned the words in the right order are you done working on the text? Is the piece ready to be seen and enjoyed by the audience?

No. You have yet to explore the breadth and depth of the scene.

Likewise, you’re not done with your fight scene after you’ve memorized the moves in the right order. You’re just beginning the work of exploring the breadth and depth of the scene. There are numerous layers to the performing of a fight scene, and just as many angles from which to to approach it. Remember that the choreography is not simply blocking. Your actions in the fight are more akin to the text in your spoken scenes and requires as much attention. It’s still a scene with objectives, tactics and obstacles, victories and defeats. You just happen to be moving in response to your partner, not talking to them.

There are many aspects of the fight scene to explore. The concept is Specificity. Your task is to be as specific as you can possibly be with each moment of your fight scene. Memorizing the actions in the right order is only the first step.